THE writing is no longer on the wall in South Bank thanks to a graffiti blitz.

And if the four-day clean-up proves successful, it may be rolled out to other parts of Redcar and Cleveland.

Graffiti-riddled walls and fences in South Bank are this week being painted over in a scheme drawn up by the Greater Eston area’s Joint Action Group (JAG).

If graffiti reappears, the public is being encouraged to raise the alarm so it can be quickly dealt with again.

The JAG also aims to reach young offenders through street corner and school visits, using the Youth Inclusion Project to harness their artistic talents into conventional artwork.

Community police officer, PC Lee Robinson, was delighted to see the problem being tackled. He told the Gazette: “Everywhere you look, there’s graffiti of some description.

“A lot of it is on derelict property, but it still looks bad and brings the area down. There are a lot of decent people in South Bank and graffiti spoils their standard of living.”

Redcar and Cleveland Council’s Cabinet member for community protection, Cleveland Police Authority chairman Dave McLuckie, said: “One of the most important elements of regeneration is that people feel comfortable living in the area - it must be clean, tidy and safe. Graffiti damages that picture and this hard-hitting initiative won’t allow people who want to deface property and buildings to get away with it.”

The four-day purge, with a workforce of council and Coast & Country Housing staff, volunteers and offenders subject to community orders, has seven priority sites, at a variety of locations, including terrace ends, walls, shops and bus shelters.

Funding for the project includes £1,000 for paint, equipment from the council and a 20% discount on paint from DIY store, B&Q.

The borough’s two other JAG areas, Redcar and East Cleveland, could also benefit from a similar scheme in future.

The South Bank blitz is part of a project which began in January and has included increased monitoring of sites. Six arrests have been made for criminal damage and two £80 fixed penalty notices issued.

Sergeant Mandy Savory, the Police team’s project leader, said: “We are aiming to identify offenders, detect the crime and prevent further offences. We believe the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices and cautions do serve as a good deterrent. The word is spreading and a number of prolific offenders have not been involved in the problem over recent months.”